In the retail shipping environment, dimensional weight (e.g., volumetric weight) is typically employed to determine the shipping rate for a particular package. Traditionally, measurements of a package's dimensions for purposes of determining dimensional weight are obtained by hand measuring the package with a measuring device such as a tape measure. This approach consumes the time of the shipping company's personnel and is also subject to measurement errors (e.g., incorrectly reading or recording the measurement).
An attractive automated system for package dimensioning has proved elusive. Obtaining an accurate three-dimensional representation of the package has typically required the use of at least two imaging devices to obtain images of the package at different angles. This approach introduces complexities into the process due to the need to assimilate the two images for analysis and, because it requires two imaging devices, it tends to be expensive.
Therefore, a need exists for an inexpensive, but accurate, automated system for determining the dimensions of objects such as packages for shipping.